The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) petition to cancel bail granted to former excise and taxation officer (ETO), Quetta, in a forgery case.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa heard the bail application of former ETO Quetta in the forgery case. The bench observed that it is 17 years old case.
According to NAB, the accused ex-ETO Ulfat Naseem was involved in preparing forged documents for the registration of non-customs paid vehicles. The additional prosecutor NAB informed that the accused had registered five vehicles without examining the documents, adding out of 258 files there were fake signatures on five files.
The court ordered the accused to pay Rs 30,000 fine within one month, saying if it is not paid within the stipulated time then he would be sent to jail for six months.
The Chief Justice remarked that the government officers should be vigilant in performance of official duty, adding they (judges) are careful in deciding the cases.
The bench noted that without the involvement of registration officer, nothing can go wrong in the registration process. Motor-vehicles' sale and purchase is big business in Balochistan.
Kamran Murtaza, representing the accused, said the cars given to people in Punjab during the tenure of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were transported to Balochistan.
Meanwhile, another bench, headed by Justice Sh Azmat Saeed, hearing bail application of EXEN Industries and Commerce Balochistan Adeel Anwar issued notice to the NAB.
The additional prosecutor general NAB told the bench that there is also another case related to misuse of authority against the accused. He had awarded contracts to many people in non-transparent manner. Justice Azmat decided to hear the case after Eid.